


Possibilities

by ozsaur



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Ancient Devices, Fluff, Holiday Fic Exchange, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-28
Updated: 2012-11-28
Packaged: 2017-11-19 18:59:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/576576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozsaur/pseuds/ozsaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John gets a look at what's possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Possibilities

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PercyByssheShelley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PercyByssheShelley/gifts).



> Happy holidays!

Being the military leader of Atlantis made it stupidly easy to slip into one of the secure storage rooms, and remove one small item from a box marked Artifact #D-652-814. He carried it around in his pocket for all of an hour before he could stash it in his quarters.

It was later that night, long after he should have been sleeping, that he took it out of the secret cubby in the wall where he kept things he didn't want others prying into, like Rodney's birthday present, and his favorite snacks that Rodney and Ronon would pillage if they knew where to find them. One of Ford's caps was in there, and a wedding picture of Nancy.

The new object was disk shaped, and fit into the cup of his palm. It was a dull silver, with an elegant geometric design etched into the top. John sat on the edge of his bed, and just held it, feeling it grow warm in his hand.

The object disappeared in his fist as he squeezed it tight. He shouldn't be doing this, but he had no more luck stopping himself now than he'd had stopping himself from stealing it in the first place.

He shifted the object so he could hold it between his fingers, letting his thumb trace the pattern from the edge to the center. There was an uncomfortable feeling of static, more mental than physical; Rodney had said the power source was failing.

"Show me," he said.

A blurry oval of light appeared on the air in front of him. That odd sense of static hit him again, and he gritted his teeth.

"Show me," he said again.

The pale yellowy-orange light swirled. There was a faint popping sensation in the back of his mind, then the light cleared, and he found himself looking at a small section of an unfamiliar balcony. It was dimly lit, and he could see a slice of night sky, but nothing else. The disappointment was keen, especially after spending days trying to talk himself out of doing this. 

It was probably the power source. It was probably too weak to get a fix on what he'd seen the first time when he'd activated the device in Rodney's lab. Mixed with the disappointment was an odd sense of relief. He could put the device back, and no one would be the wiser.

John was just about to turn it off, when a man stepped into the scene, and walked to the balcony rail. It was Rodney in an old set of sweatpants, and a raggedy, but warm, looking sweater. It wasn't his clothes that made John's breath catch. It was the faint glint of metal on Rodney's finger as he reached out to put his hands on the balcony rail. He'd had to see it again, to confirm that it was real. In the lab, there had only been a brief glimpse before the scene had collapsed, and Rodney had shooed him out so he could finalize his report on the device.

The device must have picked up on his need because the scene wavered, then snapped into focus so clear, he could have been standing on that balcony with Rodney. John stared at the little band of gold on Rodney's left hand, and felt something deep in his chest twist. So that Rodney, the one standing on a balcony under a beautiful starry sky, had gone ahead and married Jennifer. That Rodney looked happy, unlike John's Rodney who had become quieter, and less enthusiastic since they'd left Jennifer back on Earth when Atlantis had returned to Pegasus.

John wanted _his_ Rodney to look like that, happy and cozy in his stupid sweater. He didn't know how to fix it, and it was torture looking at the wedding ring on the hand of the man he'd never allowed himself to have.

It wouldn't be any trouble putting the device back. Hell, it wouldn't be a big deal if he left it in his secret cubby, but that way lead to more self torture because he knew he wouldn't be able to resist another peek. Tomorrow, he'd put the damned thing back.

He was about to turn it off when another figure entered the scene. John's mouth dropped open as another John walked up behind Rodney, and put his arms around Rodney's waist. Rodney leaned back against the other John, a smile lighting his face. Then the other John nuzzled at the nape of Rodney's neck--

\-- the device rolled across the floor, hitting the wall, then bouncing off it with a loud click. It rolled back, and came to rest on the floor next to the toe of John's boot.

They were married? The two of them, John and Rodney? He didn't know how things were over there, whether there had never been a DADT policy, or if the other two had defied the rules, or something else altogether. There was no way of finding out. What he did know was that in some parallel universe, there was a John Sheppard brave enough to reach out for what he wanted.

Heart pounding, John grabbed the device, and rushed out the door. Rodney's quarters weren't far enough away to give him time to second guess himself. When he got there, he jabbed at the door chimes repeatedly, until a disheveled, and barely awake Rodney opened the door.

"What is it? Is it the Wraith? Are we under attack-- ?"

John shoved his way through the door. "Rodney, you need to see this."

"What is it?" he asked, still alarmed. "What's going on?"

John opened his hand to show Rodney the device. Rodney blinked, then rubbed at his eyes. That's when John noticed that Rodney's hair was sticking up like dandelion fluff, and he was only wearing a t-shirt and boxers.

"Where did you get that?" 

"That doesn't matter now," John evaded. "You need to see this."

John rubbed his thumb over the device, thinking hard at it. He didn't know what he'd say if it didn't work. And he had no idea if the other two were still on the balcony. 

To his relief, the oval of light appeared in front of them. A burst of static made John flinch, and even Rodney winced. The light swirled, and as John mentally urged it on, it finally snapped into focus.

And there they were. The Rodney at his side gasped at what he saw. John felt his face heat up as he watched the other John and Rodney kiss with a passionate intensity that was almost embarrassing to witness. The other two thought they were sharing an intimate moment alone, and John didn't want to invade their privacy, but Rodney had to see this. He had to understand.

When the other two broke apart to gaze at each other for a moment before starting another round of kissing, John turned the device off. The silence was so heavy, John felt his stomach tie into knots. He risked a glance at Rodney who was still staring at the place where the scene had played out. Finally, Rodney shook himself, and turned to John.

"So you're the one who broke into the secure storage area."

That wasn't exactly what John was expecting. "You knew?"

Rodney snorted. "Of course I knew. I knew the minute someone walked in there without proper authorization. I also knew that something had been removed, but not exactly what. I was going to look at the security feeds tomorrow."

"So why didn't you report it?"

"Because I knew it had to be someone with a high security clearance, or someone who had stolen the pass codes. By reporting it, I risked spooking the thief into trying to cover their tracks better."

It was surreal having this conversation after what they'd witnessed. This wasn't at all what he wanted to talk about.

"Rodney... "

"What was so important about that device?" Rodney asked, his voice strangely gentle. "What were you after?"

Now that they'd come to the point, all John could do was shove the device into his pocket. "I'll put it back tomorrow."

"Of course you will, but that doesn't answer my question."

Had Rodney moved closer? He seemed awfully close all of a sudden.

"I needed to see... "

"Them?"

"It was only you the first time. In the lab."

"I see," Rodney said, though John wasn't sure that he got it.

"It was just him," John said. Rodney really was closer, because his hand was warm on his arm.

"And you needed to see me. Or the other me. Even though I'm right here. I've always been here, John."

Rodney's breath was soft against his cheek right before their lips touched. The kiss was slow, and sweet, and all too soon was over. He opened his eyes to see Rodney smiling at him.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do tomorrow, and don't think you're going to wiggle out of it," Rodney said, as he tugged John toward the bed.

Maybe Rodney did understand, and maybe he would have understood all along. He patted the little device in his pocket, and sent a silent thanks to the two men who had unknowingly shown him what was possible.


End file.
